Andy Murray has been handed a fiendish path to US Open glory.

The 2012 champion is in need of a good run, but will have to negotiate one of his toughest grand slam draws.

It is now a well-repeated statistic that Murray has not reached a final or beaten a top-10 opponent since winning Wimbledon last year.

If he is to claim another grand slam title in New York, he could well have to beat four of them in a row, including world No.1 Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

The early rounds will not be easy either for the 27-year-old, who is seeded only eighth this year following his post- Wimbledon slide down the rankings.

First up Murray will meet 70th-ranked Dutchman Robin Haase, against whom he had to fight back from two sets down in the second round here three years ago.

Should Murray get past Haase, two men who have caused him problems in the past await.

Radek Stepanek, who ended Murray's title defence at Queen's this year, is his likely second-round opponent, while in the third round he is seeded to meet Fernando Verdasco.

The Spaniard was the man who came closest to depriving Murray of his Wimbledon title when he led by two sets to love in the quarter-finals, although the Scot has won 10 of their 11 matches.

The fourth round could pit Murray against ninth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, who beat him in Toronto two weeks ago before going on to defeat Roger Federer in the final.

Just as they were placed in the same quarter of the draw, Murray and Djokovic were preparing to do battle in a competitive practice match on Arthur Ashe.

Even in front of an empty stadium and with no prizes for the winner, it was clear there was plenty riding on the clash, maybe especially for Djokovic.

The Serbian was on top of the tennis world after winning Wimbledon but has struggled so far on the North American hard courts, losing early in both Toronto and Cincinnati.

Djokovic took a break after Wimbledon to get married and is apart from his wife Jelena, who is back home in Monaco as the pair await the birth of their first child.

He meets Argentina's Diego Schwartzman in round one and could play top American hope John Isner in the fourth round, although he pulled out of the tournament in Winston-Salem on Thursday with a twisted ankle.

Australian Open champion Stan Wawrinka is the other top-four seed in the top half, with rising Canadian Milos Raonic his potential quarter-final opponent.

Those in the bottom half appear to have got a better draw, although a quarter-final meeting between second seed Roger Federer and Grigor Dimitrov would be mouthwatering.

Play begins at Flushing Meadows on Monday.